THE DELIGHT OF MY HEART
It’s been two years since I really met Jesus for the first time and ever since, by his grace, people keep asking me, ‘How can you be so happy?’ and ‘Why are you always smiling?’ The truth is that it is because after experiencing his love so profoundly, his words became to me the joy and the delight of my heart (Jeremiah 15:16). Meeting with Christ gave me this joy and nothing else!
SEARCHING FOR HAPPINESS
Pope Benedict XVI said, ”Dear young people, the happiness you are seeking, the happiness you have a right to enjoy has a name and a face: it is Jesus of Nazareth, hiding in the Eucharist.” Young people today are searching for happiness, they run around seeking something, someone or somewhere that can give them the love and joy that they crave. Unfortunately, the worldly joy that we experience is often mistaken for the real joy that lasts for ever! Have you ever thought about why we sin? It’s because it gives us a momentary feeling of joy. However, this ‘joy’ will only last for a few seconds. I have tasted life without Jesus and life with him and I can tell you that only he can give you true joy, a happiness that I cannot describe properly with words! I agree with the Psalmist who said, “In your presence there is fullness of Joy!” (Psalm 16:9).
JESUS IS WITH US
We cannot expect to have a life without problems and Jesus never promised that if we followed him, life would be easy going. St Paul was a man who had found momentary joy in rounding up members of the early church and killing them, but after meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus, the profound joy of the Holy Spirit filled him completely. He says in Romans 8:35, “What will separate us from the love of Christ?” Even though he, himself was persecuted, beaten and put in jail, he was full of joy, praising and worshipping the Lord. Our Blessed Mother endured many trials in her life time, but she could bear them all because her “soul rejoiced in God, her Saviour.” Why? Because Jesus, the king of love, promises to be with us when we suffer and when he is with us, the joy of heaven that he brings is amazing!
JOY IN THE HOLY SPIRIT
Jesus never commanded us to be serious. He never said don’t laugh or tell jokes. The Bible says that there is rejoicing in heaven all the time. Jesus, talking about the lost sheep in Luke 15:7, says that there is rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who has repented. In Romans 14:17 St Paul, filled with the power of the spirit, says that the kingdom of God is not food or drink, but joy in the Holy Spirit. Many people don’t understand what having faith in Jesus Christ really means, they think that if you want to be spiritual then you have to be serious. That’s definitely not the call of Christians. The call that we have is to become an instrument of peace wherever we are sent by Christ and to sow joy where there is sadness (as St. Francis of Assisi prayed). Blessed Mother Teresa said, “Joy is a net of love in which we catch souls.” Let’s use the joy that we have inside us to win souls for the kingdom of God.
A LIFE-TIME GUARANTEE
The joy that we receive is a fruit from Holy Spirit dwelling within us and it will never end. We have a life time guaranteed supply! Jesus says that “your hearts will rejoice and no one will take your joy from you.” (John 16:22) Are you filled with real heavenly joy? If not then just say “yes” to Christ Jesus and ask the Holy Spirit to come and turn your mourning into dancing. (Psalm 30:11)
Written by Nimmy Biju